GM buys Sidecar assets and launches car-sharing service

General Motors has acquired the assets of shuttered ride-hailing
service Sidecar and has launched a car-sharing service called Maven.

Sidecar ceased operations at the end of 2015. Co-founder and CEO Sunil Paul said
in a blog post that it was forced to shut down operations and sell its assets
because “we were unable to compete against Uber, a company that raised more
capital than any other in history and is infamous for its anti-competitive
behavior.”

No acquisition price was disclosed, though Bloomberg said
it was less than the $39 million Sidecar raised in equity funding, citing a
person familiar with the process. The main component to the GM transaction is a license to the Sidecar patent
for the "system and method for determining an efficient transportation route," Paul said.

GM said that Maven has launched in Ann Arbor, Mich., focusing
on serving faculty and students at the University of Michigan. GM vehicles will
be available initially at 21 parking spots across the city, GM said.

Maven customers use its free app to search for and reserve a
vehicle by location or car type and unlock the vehicle with their smartphone. GM said it will expand Maven's operations to other cities
later this year.

Former Sidecar employees are on Maven's staff, GM said.

Before acquiring Sidecar's assets, GM invested $500 million
in ride-hailing app Lyft in early January. Lyft said GM would help develop an “Autonomous
On-Demand Network” of self-driving vehicles for hire as well as a “series of
national rental hubs” that make cars available to rent for as short as an hour
at a time.